Van Sun says Enbridge protester tries to avoid driving

2013-01-21 09:41 ET - In the News

The Vancouver Sun reports in its Saturday edition that Bill Darnell, 66, is among the original founders of Greenpeace. The Sun's Pete McMartin writes he came to Vancouver from his home in Vernon and spoke at the National Energy Board's hearings on the Northern Gateway pipeline.
At that hearing, Mr. Darnell spoke of Greenpeace's 1971 protest journey to Amchitka, in Alaska, and the eventual cancellation of the five remaining nuclear tests. He reminded the three-member NEB panel that since that time, British Columbia has had a history of civil disobedience to protect its environment. He said they could expect more.
Mr. Darnell drove to Vancouver from Vernon in a Honda Fit. "A compromise," he said. "I don't like to drive, but I thought I should get the smallest car I could with the best mileage."
It's an oft-heard retort of those who would silence anti-pipeline sentiments that protesters are being hypocritical by refusing to admit their own dependence on oil. On a personal level, Mr. Darnell says he bikes everywhere he can, recycles all he can and lives in an environmentally designed house, but his personal activism can only go so far. He recognizes he lives within the framework of a society based on oil.